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Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Just like Christmas

I don't really mind being a job hopper, most of the time. Sure, I always misplace a lot of my possessions in the annual uprooting. And sure, I've been working for entry-level pay since I was 15. But the worst part about my constant freshman employee status is the way I get every single holiday dumped on me. I was the only one in my entire department to work Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. And what do I get in return? Random days off, three weeks later. I didn't get to choose them. So today, Jan. 17, was Christmas Day to me. Hooray.

I predictably used my extra day off to go for a bike ride. I told Geoff I was going to do my regular two-hour ride, but then I stayed out for three and a half hours. I didn't have a great reason. I'm going to try and ride 7-8 hours tomorrow, so I probably would have been better off keeping it short. Most of the paths and shoulders were buried so the going was slow. And the weather wasn't particularly great. Not even particularly tolerable, really ... it snowed about three inches while I was out, wet snowflakes roughly the size of maple leaves. I wore my goggles until the moisture froze in vision-obscuring droplets. Then I just had to take those flake daggers right in the eyes. And I wasn't even feeling particularly strong. Just sort of ... normal. Biking is just want I do now, when I'm not sleeping or working. And since I had neither waiting for me when I got home, I just ... biked.

I am still making attempts at having a life, though. Geoff and I went with friends tonight to see "Raven Odyssey," the local theater production - the legend of "Raven" as told through a multitude of Native Alaskan and Siberian anecdotes. It was entertaining and culturally enlightening. So there. So it's not all bikes all the time ... except for when I came straight home and spent 30 minutes thoughtfully putting together clothing and a care package for tomorrow. Who am I really kidding? And what of Jan. 18? Boxing Day, I guess. I hope to kick some ***.

5 comments:

Merry Christmas Jill.I can't believe your tenacity! I may have missed them but do you ever have a rest day?Bummer about the work. It must be tough being the new kid all the time.I've engaged in about half a dozen totally unrelated courses so I could be more employable and I am just about over learning stuff that I know I'll forget soon anyway, only to be the new kid all over again. I'm working at the moment and they'll have to drag me out screaming if they want to get rid of me!

I know the "normal" feeling. I think it's just part of the miles. We ride everyday, rain or shine, because we want to or some days because we need to. Of course on those good days when you're that much stronger because of your training it seems all worth it.

A bunch of friends and I listened to some old pro's and rising star last night (tom danielson). You could tell some of them were still burned out by the suffering they did and others like Ned still had the fire. For those of us with full time jobs I think it's rare for that fire to go away because riding and racing is such a great escape from the everyday grind. Anyway I'm done rambling. Keep riding. It's normal to you but it's extrordinary to the majority of the world.

I've been lurking through your blog for a about a month now, and I just wanted to finally pipe up and say that your pictures are AMAZING. I especially love all your landscape shots. I haven't ridden a bike since I was about thirteen, but it's also been very interesting to read about your biking adventures; the distances you ride in such harsh conditions sound extraordinary!

The "Raven Odyssey" production sounds fascinating. (I'm a bit of a Northern Exposure geek, and I always loved the episode that centered on the legend of the raven returning the sun to the sky.)

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